Firefighters may become entrapped in the upper floors of a multistory building with no internal means of escape. Many tragically have become severely burned, or even killed, as a result. On such occasions, it is known to use a rope and an emergency climbing harness to rappel down to the ground, or at least to a lower floor which is not burning or is otherwise safe. However, such equipment is bulky and therefore not always brought by the firefighter into the building. Even when it is available, in an emergency situation it can be difficult and time consuming to put on, because the firefighter may be running low on oxygen, and smoke and the lack of electric light may be obscuring his or her vision.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following information disclosure statement:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. Documents U.S. Pat. No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 5,136,724 W. Grilliot et al. Aug. 11, 1992 5,036,548 W. Grilliot et al. Aug. 6, 1991 3,973,643 J. Hutchinson Aug. 10, 1976 2,979,153 E. Hoagland et al. Apr. 11, 1961 4,076,101 L. Himmelrich Feb. 28, 1978 1,574,529 S. Abrahma Feb. 23, 1926 4,645,033 H. Oselsclager Feb. 24, 1987 3,176,793 R. Hlacia Apr. 6, 1965 112,552 J. Conley Mar. 14, 1871 416,550 J. Betten Dec. 3, 1889 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,036,548 and 5,136,724 teach forms of combined firefighters' turnout pants and safety harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,643 teaches a firefighters' safety coat with detachable harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,153 teaches a safety suit with built-in harness.
There continues to be a need for a new and improved extrication harness apparatus, which addresses the problems of construction, effectiveness and ease of use that are attendant in the prior art. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.